NBA Mock Draft leading up to the Knicks selecting 8th overall

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AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND – NOVEMBER 30: LaMelo Ball of the Hawks during warm up prior to the round 9 NBL match between the New Zealand Breakers and the Illawarra Hawks at Spark Arena on November 30, 2019 in Auckland, New Zealand. (Photo by Anthony Au-Yeung/Getty Images) /

2. Golden State Warriors: LaMelo Ball, G, Illawarra

The Golden State Warriors are not looking for a lottery pick to develop into a future star: with Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins, and Draymond Green, they are ready to prove they can compete again for a championship next season. For that reason, I put Ball as a sort of placeholder with the Warriors pick.

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said before the lottery results were revealed this week that Golden State general manager Bob Myers would be “aggressive” in shopping their pick for a veteran player who can help the team in the near-term.

The most obvious team that would potentially want to trade up to select Ball is the New York Knicks, but they lack the type of veteran player the Warriors are looking to acquire. Perhaps a third team could get involved, who does have a veteran piece Golden State desires, and the Knicks can provide that team with added draft capital (they have the 8th, 27th, and 38th picks in this year’s draft) to navigate their way to the second overall pick.

However it shakes out, it would seem unlikely that the Warriors pass on the opportunity to use this valued pick to improve their team’s chances of winning another ring with Steph Curry and company.

Ball is a point guard who offers the potential to be a generational playmaker, so teams will be interested to move up to acquire him.

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